Just curious, I have spoken to a couple of brokers about a french mortgage and they have said I will need the deposit shown on a bank statement to get an agreement in principle.
The deposit is coming from a house sale, which wont be complete for another month or so, surely this is possible as often you have to sell one property to find the next?
Are you sure it’s the deposit figure they want to see, and not a regular income figure?
It seems odd because under French law the amount the lender can lend you is based on your regular income, in that the monthly repayments cannot exceed a fixed proportion of your disposable income (“capacity to repay”). So they usually do need to study your bank statements in order to give an agreement in principle, but it’s not the amount in your bank they are looking at, it’s your monthy income.
They want to verify we have the funds to complete inc fees and deposit. That money ( and more ) is currently in a property being sold. As a mortgage broker in the UK, you accept the fact that although client can’t prove deposit at point of application, if it’s coming from equity that’s OK.
The bank (BNP) were saying we need to prove deposit ie sell the house and then get an AIP before we can make a full application?
Seemed very strange indeed!
why not try another Bank… if both say the same thing… then, that is just the way it is… if not…
Rule number one when moving to France:
Don’t expect everything to be exactly like it is in the UK.
Rule number two goes with it:
Just because something is different, that does not make it wrong.
Or sensible, logical or indeed right 
The safest advice would be assume nothing, check everything.
Try Britline with credit Agricole as they are English speaking. Even just to ask them the process.We sold our property in UK and they were very helpful
Hello Steve,
I am sorry to confirm that the laws in France have recently changed and now you do indeed need to demonstrate that you have the funds for the deposit before you can get a mortgage. However, you may be able to get a less formal confirmation that states, given all conditions are met a mortgage would be provided. If you are looking to just solidify viewings not having this agreement in place should not be a barrier, although immobiliers (estate agents) do like to know that prospective clients are serious. If it is an issue further down the line such as at the offer stage, you may be able to get advice from a notaire if your immobilier cannot help.
Good luck,
Tracey
Hi Tracy and welcome to the forum…
It might be useful… and certainly interesting… if you could post on Small Talk… and " Introduce Yourself"…
Just a thought
Cheers
Hi Stella,
I will take a look, I have literally just joined so I am taking a look around 
This is the link… to give you an idea…
https://www.survivefrance.com/c/small-talk/introduce-yourselves